Nadezhdin (Boris)

Boris Nadezhdin (born 1963) is a Russian politician and lawyer who gained significant attention in early 2024 for his attempt to run in the Russian presidential election.Known for his liberal views, Nadezhdin has been involved in Russian politics for decades, previously serving as a member of the State Duma. Known for his liberal views and criticism of the war in Ukraine, Nadezhdin's campaign followed the earlier disqualification of Yekaterina Duntsova, another anti-war candidate, in December 2023. Many of Duntsova's supporters switched their backing to Nadezhdin. His campaign saw unprecedented scenes of large crowds gathering outside his offices across Russia to sign in support of his candidacy. These gatherings, while ostensibly for collecting signatures, took on the character of impromptu anti-war demonstrations and briefly energized opposition forces. Despite collecting over 200,000 signatures, Nadezhdin was ultimately barred from running by the Central Election Commission, which claimed many signatures were invalid. This decision was widely seen as politically motivated. [ClaudeAI, edited]